


Codename: Van Buren

by thegreatandpowerfultoaster



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Attempted Murder, Canon Typical Everything, Dark, Genetic Engineering, Ghouls, I was thinking of a musical but..., Implied Sexual Content, Memory Loss, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Novelization, Rated to be Safe, Touch-Starved, a lot of bad stuff, i will update other stuff I swear, implied attempted rape
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-09-11 06:50:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8963965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegreatandpowerfultoaster/pseuds/thegreatandpowerfultoaster
Summary: "Van Buren was the project name Black Isle Studios assigned to their version of Fallout 3," The Fallout Wiki states. "In 2003, the game was cancelled due to financial difficulty's."I have compiled information on Van Buren to bring you a novelization of what could've been Fallout 3. Because of this, I cannot guarantee the canonical stability of this retelling. Most details will be taken from what we do have. Otherwise...This is the story of a Prisoner.





	1. Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I will eventually update other things. Comment and let me know how I'm doing, what you'd like to see, as well as what other works of mine should be updated.

It's dark. It's always dark.

 

But... this is a totally different darkness than the one I fell asleep in. It's colder, more unfriendly. There is a soft humming filling my ears, enveloping me. It is not unpleasant, however it is quite ominous, hinting at something I cannot see.

 

T%his isn't just another cell, I know that. It's a new place, a new prison. I don't remember being sent here, why? I fell asleep and then I woke up here.

 

Prison, yes prison. I am no innocent. I killed a man, he had it coming. The authority did not agree. It's hard not to sit here and contemplate your existence. That's the beauty of it, I suppose. I hear a robot slowly move past the cell door. It checks that I am still here, alone, unarmed, helpless. It moves on.

 

I ignore the sound my stomach makes. Its wanting,  _pleading_ for anything. I can't give it what it wants, so I try to fall back to sleep, if only to calm the hunger pains.

 

It might be hours or minutes before I wake again, this time to an earsplitting sound. It is as if the world is breaking open. Quickly as I can, I press myself to the cold concrete wall, shielding myself from falling shards of concrete.

 

It ends as suddenly as it began, and I stand up, pressing myself against the bars to scream at the robots. There is no reply, not ever. That is unsurprising, as if I know their all dead. Like they'd answer even if they weren't.

 

The cell door is open, I feel the bars swing away from me and struggle not to fall into the pitch black void. For the first time in an eternity, I see a light. A sliver down a hallway. I stumble, hoping no one sees me, to a hole in the rough cement wall. Its big enough, I can fit, but it's a tight squeeze.

 

And with a sharp breath in, fresh air. Still stale, so much less so, though. It's cold, it pierces my lungs. It feels so perfect and I realize that this is freedom. I collapse onto the soft feeling ground suddenly, in immense pain. I know I have to run, but i haven't eaten in  _so_ long and it hurts.. I have to pull myself up  _now_ , a moment longer and someone might find me. I get a pitiful three feet or so more before a shadow pushes me to the ground.

 

"Thought you could get away?" It's a males voice, husky and so obliviously taunting me. I don't move and his grip loosens, just enough for me to get to my knees, to make one hopeless last stand.

 

The man chuckles, I don't blame him. I have no hope in this fight. He stands up and moves around behind me, leaning into my ear. I silently search for something that will help me, a stick even. "Why don't you and I have some fun before you get two to the head, sweetheart.

 

My stomach churns. Typical waste raider, it seems. Why me, I'll never know. How he can see  _me_ , my slight curves in this darkness, under the rags I've collected is anyone's guess. Maybe he doesn't know, doesn't care.

 

There in the sandy dirt my hand touches cold metal An iron pole. In one move I swing it toward my assailants face, and while its not exactly on target its still a definite hit. He sputters, taking a small step back. I run, as fast as I can, almost tripping over my own feet. I can still hear him screaming violently as I run into the dark unknown.


	2. Hanged

It isn't long into my new found freedom that I realize I have no idea where I'm going, or even a general idea of where I am.

 

I cant hear the mans screams anymore, hopefully that simply means I'm far away, and not that he's about to assault me silently. My insides lurch at the thought. well, no one plans a murder out loud, so I don't count on my safety. An hour or so passes, (I've never been the best judge where time is concerned.) The sun begins to inch above the horizon.

 

Finally I can start to see my surroundings. There's a massive castle-like building in the distance, rundown but still standing. not far from me is a very, very short flagpole, with a still dark shape hanging from it. A body, I realize. That's gruesome, but the part of me that has morals cant just leave it there, criminal or not. 

 

It needs a burial, even if it just happened to be the worst human in the whole world. It deserves- It's screaming. In pain or in anger...It...he isn't dead. Should I cut him down? I need an ally, but what if he tries to hurt me?

 

"E...Excuse me?" I call, "Why are you up there?"

 

He looks down, probably surprised I'm there, speaking to him. Its just another moment before he arrives. It's rough but far from unpleasant. "Cut me down, girl!"

 

"You never answered my question," I reply curtly. I know it's a stupid question. "Do so and I will consider wasting my time helping you." I should still be trying to get as far away from the prison as possible, but if I could find someone willing to point me in the right direction at least.

 

"NCR decides when they see someone wearing what they assume to be legion red, they deserve to be hung."

 

I lived farther to the north. NCR, Legion, Brotherhood. I've heard the names before but I can't say I know anything about them. Who am I to say I know anything about them. Who am I helping, good or bad. I'm still desperate. "So you did nothing."

 

"I'm not 100 percent innocent, but no, it has been plenty of years since I've done anything especially amoral."

 

That should've reassured me, at least some, and it did, but not enough. It was now or never, I supposed, and glanced t the horizon.

 

"Fine...Fine. But the moment you try something stupid, I...I'll hurt you."

 

"I would'nt dream of it, madame." he says laughingly. "My pillaging days are long over." I roll my eyes and stretch up to loosen the rope. My hand brushes bandage. How odd. He falls the few feet to the ground and uses one hand to massage his nek. I now see he is wrapped in bandages, head to toe. No skin showed through. Over it he wears a clean white shirt and black pants, as well as a bulletproof vest. I don't yet turn to leave: I need directions and he owes me.

 

"Where are we? How far to the nearest settlement?"

 

"Long way to any settlement. New Canaan, is far to the north, Vegas far to the west. Guess there's reservation to the east, Wouldn't go there myself. Mesa Verde's not far. We're in the southwest corner of Utah."

 

I nod and turn. "Thanks," and then i begin to head east, the opposite direction of the prison. The hanged man follows. "Why are you following me?"

 

"You saved my life," he says. "And besides that I have nowhere else to go." I turned back around, slowly, watching him out of the corner of my eye.

 

* * *

 

Far away from where the hanged man and I trod, a Pre-war scientist was receiving bad news about a failed assassination. The old man shook his head and sighed, turning away from the large man covered in tribal tattoos.

 

"Can you do nothing right? Get out there and kill her, and don't return until you do so."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to go into an info dump at the end of this, but I decided not too.


	3. Alexandra

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's when things start to get a bit more exiting, and we learn a bit more about the hanged man's past. (Well, it's there if you squint.)

He doesn't want to tell me his name. He doesn't want to tell me how long he was strung to a flagpole at an abandoned NCR fortress, He doesn't want to tell me anything. My companion is far from friendly, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't nice to have some human company after who knows how long. All attempts at conversation are quickly shot down and I don't press it.

 

Utah, that's in the Midwest, maybe more southwest but still, I'm far, far from home. I don't want to go back. Here, at least there's an adventure to be had. I need to know why I was transferred so far away. And why I don't remember a second of it.

 

Its perfectly quiet, until mid morning, almost noon. Until it feels like something is clawing at me from the inside, trying to get out. There's no food out here, I realize and repress a pained groan. I feel as If i'm going to collapse again, though I know I can't.

 

"Mesa Verde isn't much farther now," The hanged man says. "Caravans stop there frequently for camp, maybe someones left something behind." I feel my legs weaken beneath be with the notion that I have to press onward. How long has it been since I've eaten? One week. maybe two? Time passing blurrs whilst in a cell, I can attest to that.

 

Still, I nod. It feels like hours before we reach the city in the rock.

 

I have never seen something so magnificent. What civilization had lived there, I begin to wonder, because it looks far different to the other old world cites I've seen. I ask the hanged man, and he replies to say that an ancient tribe built it, long before the war. At least that's what he's heard.

 

I continue to marvel, and almost for a moment forget the hunger pains clawing at my insides. The city is dead silent, and it's easy to find something a caravan has left behind. A .45 and a half gone package of snack cakes. It's still something. There's just two left.

 

I attempt to hand one to my travelling companion, but he refuses  to take it. As I eat mine I point out that it might be a while before we get to eat again. He nods. "Fair point. You have it, your starving to death, I'm not."

 

We sat in silence for some time, I was eating and he was staring at the horizon, occasionally glancing at me. Even though he was covered in bandages, there was no way I could avoid seeing the way he was looking at me. I pushed the thought away, and couldn't help but wonder what had happened. Did it hurt? I didn't care to ask, which was probably just as well because I have a feeling he wouldn't care to answer.

 

There was a clamor of noise in the distance, breaking the relatively comfortable silence. He stood up quickly, grabbing the .45 we'd found by the snack cakes. I hadn't had the chance to pick a weapon up, so I grabbed a rock of the ground, one a bit larger than my fist. At least I could throw it at something, should the need arise.

 

"Mind if I lead?" he said quickly, not really waiting for a reply before heading to the noises. I shrugged and sighed a little.

 

He took point and we rounded the corner to see a small woman with a rife fighting a mutant. A Nightkin, in fact. I'd seen only a few but knew like their Supermutant cousins, they could kill someone with ease.

 

The hanged man brought the gun up, before I quickly grabbed his shoulder. He didn't flinch, so I mentally noted that Whatever it was underneath those bandages, it couldn't have hurt much. "Wait. You don't know who you're helping."

 

"I do, in fact. She''ll give us supplies."

 

 "Not if we die first," I scoffed. "Ready when you are, I suppose." 

 

He took the shot and it hit squarely in the shoulder. The mutant hardly flinched but it came lumbering toward us. I hurled the rock at it. It didn't do much. The woman took advantage of the distraction to shoot it twice in the head.

 

The mutant roared, but soon collapsed into a heap.

 

"What the hell!" the woman yelled. quickly reloading the shotgun and heading over to where we stood. "I needed the mutie  _alive_ and you had to just-" She paused when she saw the hanged man, "You."

 

He sighed. "Alexandra, was it?" She didn't respond, he continued anyways. "I assume you needed it for a bounty. Heard they're paying well. How goes the war in the East?" 

 

She snorted and pulled he silverish hair back into a ponytail. "Like I of all people would know.."

 

"We're looking for supplies," I cut in. She turned to me, and carefully looked me over. She then turned back to the Hanged Man. Suddenly I could not help but find the peach and atomic ash colored ground enticing.

 

"Thought people like you traveled alone."

 

He failed to reply for a very long time. I dislike being spoken about like I'm not in the room. It's uncomfortable. "I owe her one," He replied simply. "We're off to boulder. Should be another one or three days."

 

She squinted. "Haven't you heard? Boulders all in an uproar. Plague.."

 

He shrugged. "She wants civilization, we'll find civilization."

 

"plenty of that in New Canaan," she offers. "High living that is." The sarcasm is easily detected. I've heard of New Canaan somewhere. He gives her a cold stare and leads me away.

 

I turn back. "You try to make a move and-"

 

She gives me an eye roll. "I'm not an idiot. With him on your side? Not a chance."

 

I feel a hand grab my shoulder and jerk me away. "What the hell?" The husky voice of my companion whispers. I bite my lip and a shiver runs down my spine. I've been away from people for far too long. He's just... too close. "Stay out of trouble."

 

"Never been to good at that."


	4. Goodnight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a train wreck...This is the 5th time I've typed it today and Ao3 is just deleting it every so often.  
> Next chapter is just backstory pretty much so enjoy the almost-fluff as a reconciliation gift.
> 
> Just a reminder that the factions are widely different here.

We walked for the rest of the day headed East, toward Boulder. I still wasn't sure how I felt about that. Once far, far away, the hanged stated to me that he doubted Boulder was having an epidemic. It had always been known for it's odd happenings, and besides that she had never been to Boulder, being that the farthest east NCR territory reached was Mesa Verde.

 

“She's NCR?” I had asked. He shook his head. “Legion, but the NCR pays more for her medical skills. Legion don't care, so long as she's there and loy6al when they need her.”

 

“Makes sense,” I offer. It does not. At least not to me.

 

We made camp in a small ruin off the side of the road, a house, mostly holding up, which seemed miraculous. Inside there lie a mattress, and though the springs were sticking far out of the fabric, I couldn't deny it's allure. After the experiences of today, I was happy to have somewhere to lay my head that wasn't a broken up concrete floor in a cell.

 

The hanged man left the .45 with me, saying it was only to prove that he wasn't out for my blood, though I caught him grumbling about how _he_ should be the worried one. I scoffed and he turned to leave.

 

He got to the doorway before I stopped him. “Hey!” He turned , and the part of his face I could see looked rather annoyed. I struggled to find the words I was looking for and I began to stutter. “T..Thanks. For E...everything and...goodnight.”

 

His features softened. “Goodnight,” he grumbled under his breath. It brought a light smile to my face. I wasn't alone, and if he was still here now, I had a feeling he would stay.

 

I drifted slowly into an uneasy rest. It5 was hard to forget the rush of adrenaline that had carried me through the morning, but it had long since dissipated. The whole day had been hectic to say the least. But I was relatively safe now.

 

A voice speaks to me through the haze. n”Get up. _Get up_ ,” it growls. I'm jerked awake. The hanged man stands above me. Quickly I sit up.

 

“What?”

 

“There are people outside. Wanting I, hunting you. I'd grab the gun, we're outnumbered.”

 

I panicked. For a single moment I wondered who in the world would want me dead, but it soon became clear. I had escaped from a prison, and thus would be perused. A simple answer to a simple question.

 

I hesitate taking the gun from it's place in the dirt near my resting place. “S...shouldn't you take it?” My hands are shaking, I don't trust myself to be on target.

 

He looked at me, seeming calm but can guess otherwise. “Do you know how to shoot?” I nod. Of course I do. You know or you're dead. I just...

 

“We're outnumbered and we have one weapon,” my voice is shaking, betraying me in the weak whisper in which it has adjusted to. “I'm no coward,” I state firmly, upon seeing the look on his face.

 

He sighs and picks up the .45. “It's not often I agree to turn tail and run, but in this instance it seems wise,” he truly does look disappointed. “Another day, perhaps,”{ I say dryly. From up close I see the outline of ruined flesh on his neck. It's easy to miss, yet it covers all of his skin. That I can see through the bandages. The starlight offers the right angle, and I see him smirk. He's obliviously caught me, but I can't say I really care.

 

He's not a ghoul, at least I don't think so. He has a nose. There's suddenly a violent banging against the fragile door. “Open up!” A voice snarled. 'I know you're in there, girl!” My blood ran cold. I could hear the hanged man calling me, telling me we needed to move, now but I couldn't move, or respond.

 

It was him. From the prison who'd tried to kill me and- No, no, no, _no._ Please, what had I done to deserve all this? To be torn away from my home. I never asked to be thrust into this....this...

 

Why was I here, enduring this?

 


End file.
